Winter's coming

oggie

Pedelecer
Apr 4, 2017
63
55
chester
Previous experience of using a bike once they have started putting rock salt on the roads is not good.
No matter how you clean your bike, salt, rusts and corodes many parts. I'm reluctant to use my crossfire e bike and see it rot away but do not want to stop the excellent exercise and fun of using the e bike over winter.
What's your view?
 
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kangooroo

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 24, 2015
267
182
Wye Valley
My view is that we only live once and we buy our bikes to use and enjoy rather than sit pretty and shiny in the house.

I'm probably not the most sensible person to ask though having spent the morning riding back and to through a ford on my wobbly, non-electric lightweight folder.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,991
8,173
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West Sx RH
Most bikes are ali nowadays and well protected by paint/lacquer finish, you are worrying over nothing.
My trusty Norco 700c town/commute steed rarely or never sees a clean and is now almost 5 years old, the only attention it gets a bit of chain lube and brake pads.
 
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The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
179
52
South Yorks
I use ACF50 on my motorbike, applying it almost everywhere thats metal just before winter. I don't wash it until the following spring. It gets caked with mud and dirt, but a good clean the following spring reveals a nice clean shiny surface underneath.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
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The European Union
Why would they put salt on the road? <ducking> :p
 
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LeighPing

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 27, 2016
2,547
1,944
The Red Ditch
Previous experience of using a bike once they have started putting rock salt on the roads is not good.
No matter how you clean your bike, salt, rusts and corodes many parts. I'm reluctant to use my crossfire e bike and see it rot away but do not want to stop the excellent exercise and fun of using the e bike over winter.
What's your view?
Probably best to coat it with something, as suggested above, and leave it until spring. Mine's coated in mud and will stay that way. I've never cleaned them myself. My good lady cleaned it for the first few days, she's that way inclined. I just kept going out and dirtying it again. She soon gave up. :)

DSC00287.JPG

Get some good mudguards and a splashguard as shown in the pic. They might help.
 
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jerrysimon

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 27, 2009
3,292
112
Cambridge, UK
Rode my "steel" Brompton to and from work for almost 10 years, though not in snow and ice. Someone commented the other day how good it still looked (Front wheel Tonxin conversion) after nealry 10K miles.

I wont be using it daily this winter, as I was fortunate to retire early last March :p

However I use it a couple of times a week now when I volunteer and do Samaritan shifts.

My little electric Brompton changed my commute/lifestyle!

PS and back in 2009 I have this forum to thank as I embarked on the electric bike adventure.
 
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VictoryV

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 15, 2012
310
208
77
near Biggleswade
Why would they put salt on the road? <ducking> :p
On airfields they use Urea (Pigs Pee) because it is non corrosive to aircraft which have significant amounts of magnesium alloy in their wheels. At RAF Lossiemouth, which, in the late 70's, used to be a master diversion airfield for civil and military aircraft across Scotland, and had to maintain a runway surface 24/7/365 we used to use up to 15 tons of urea a night to keep the runways clear. This had to be hand loaded in 25kg bags into the hoppers of the spreading machines. When washed off by rain or meltwater the urea made the grass incredibly green.
 
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Danidl

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2016
8,608
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Ireland
Why would they put salt on the road? <ducking> :p
For someone living in the south of France perhaps a reasonable question. In the UK and Ireland, we often get temperatures slightly below freezing and over the course of a day it can cycle above and below zero Celsius multiple times. Dumping rock salt , the cheapest type , depresses the freezing point so the roads will be wet but not icy.

When I saw the initial posting I assumed a game of thrones fan!
 
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anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
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I too think it may have been a pun...
 
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egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
970
575
56
UK
Ride my crossfire-e every day to work including all winter for the past year. Apart from the handlebar stem bolts which have gone a little rusty coloured, everything else looks like new.
I tend to not wash it too often, but make sure the chain, casette, derailieur, pedals, cables etc are cleaned and lubed every couple of weeks or so, especially if we have a lot of rain

Some of my best rides have been in winter, last winter, rode a 45 mile round route on a Sunday, in the non-stop pouring rain for 4 hours (bit stressed at work, had to get out),the crossfire-e performed brilliantly, no problems at all

It's there to ridden, get out there !!
 
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egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
970
575
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UK
Make sure you get some decent mudguards.

On the way to Lulworth last weekend, looking down on the South Dorset Downs
IMG_20170923_135437.jpg
 
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oggie

Pedelecer
Apr 4, 2017
63
55
chester
Probably best to coat it with something, as suggested above, and leave it until spring. Mine's coated in mud and will stay that way. I've never cleaned them myself. My good lady cleaned it for the first few days, she's that way inclined. I just kept going out and dirtying it again. She soon gave up. :)

View attachment 21417

Get some good mudguards and a splashguard as shown in the pic. They might help.
eeeeaaaarrrggggg no way can I not clean oil and check/maintain the bike after every ride. Just one of them things installed into my dna
 
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LeighPing

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 27, 2016
2,547
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The Red Ditch
ocd my ar*e, just lookin after £1,000 of kit, does'nt everyone do that? don't know about you but leaving it in the garage covered in sh'te is not for me
I'm sure that plenty do clean their expensive bikes after each use. I'm using mine daily to walk the dog. It's a 10 minute bike ride through the September bog. To clean it would become a chore. Although, it did look quite nice when it was clean.

Anyway the mud protects it, from more mud. :)